Ramrod takes J/111 Key West Winter Series I
by J/Boats 23 Jan 2021 16:14 UTC
January 16-18,2021
J/111 Key West Winter Series I © Karl D. Felger
The inaugural 2021 Key West Winter Series took place January 16-18 off Key West, Florida. Thanks to the efforts of Ryan and Rob Ruhlman and the entire team at SAILING INC (with J/Dealerships in Ohio and South Carolina) for pulling this together.
The five-boat fleet were chomping on their bits and could not wait to get back down to Key West and do some sailing in the gorgeous aquamarine waters and mild 70's temperatures with plenty of sun! They were not disappointed, as Key West delivered on some great sailing in the race course area just 2.0 miles southwest of Key West Harbor.
After a thrilling, fun-filled three days of racing offshore, the regatta PRO Mark Foster managed to run a tight series of races, completing eight races by Sunday afternoon.
A well-known Chesapeake Bay sailor who has several offshore and World Championship titles to his name managed to win in his inaugural debut in the J/111 class. Rod Jabin's crew on Ramrod took the first J/111 Key West Winter Series event with the stunning record of three 1sts, four 2nds, and a 4th for total of 15 pts. While the Ramrod crew mastered their boat and the conditions, showing their transom to the fleet most of the time, behind them it was anything but clear which teams would make the podium. Sailing perhaps one of their best regattas in recent years was Andy and Sedge Ward's BRAVO posting five races in the top three and winning the last race to cement their hold on the silver. Finishing just four points behind them was another Chesapeake Bay team on Marty Roesch's VELOCITY, posting six races in the top three to take the bronze.
The next regatta in Key West will be sailed on March 5th to 7th, 2021.
Follow the J/111 class on Facebook here. More information on the Key West Winter J/111 Series, presented by SAILING INC here.